HOW THE THAI FORMULATE POLICY TOWARD BURMA

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UNSC BM TH
SUBJECT: HOW THE THAI FORMULATE POLICY TOWARD BURMA


Classified By: Political Officer J.R. Littlejohn, reason: 1.4 (b) and (
d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Thai MFA has a lead role in drafting policy toward
Burma and normally clears its drafts through an interagency
body that includes the National Security Council (NSC) and
the Army. When the RTG formulated its position on the UNSC
resolution on Burma, however, the MFA had full control of the
process and did not seek outside clearances. The key MFA
official responsible for Burma explained to us the details of
Thai policy formulation. Despite a change of
administrations, it appears the MFA retains a leading role in
charting the course of Thai policy toward Burma. End Summary.

GENERAL POLICY TOWARD BURMA
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2. (C) In a January 30 conversation, MFA East Asian Affairs
Division I Acting Director, Kallayana Vipattipumiprates
described to us how the MFA formulates Thailand's general
approach toward Burma. The East Asia Department's Division I
(responsible for Burma, Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei)
formulates a policy, and then passes it up to the Permanent
Secretary for review. After the PermSec clears, the document

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is sent to the Foreign Minister for use in cabinet level
interagency discussion. Principal participants in all
interagency discussions on Burma include the National
Security Council (NSC) and the Army. Other groups in the
business sector may be encouraged to weigh in. For example,
if an issue pertains to the security of the Thai-Burma
border, discussion with the private sector would be
warranted. Kallayana said this group might include members
of the Chamber of Commerce, the Thai Bankers Association and
the Federation of Thai Industry.


3. (C) Kallayana told us that Thai policy toward Burma
post-coup will remain essentially the same as pre-coup. He
said the Thai would continue to honor past commitments with
Burma, but full transparency would be a prerequisite for
future deals.

THAILAND'S POSITION ON THE UNSC RESOLUTION ON BURMA
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4. (C) Kallayana said that the Foreign Ministry developed its
stance on the UN Security Council resolution on Burma
internally. According to Kallayana, the RTG's position paper
on the draft resolution on Burma was prepared in Division I,
under his supervision. The document was vetted by Permanent
Secretary Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn and forwarded to Foreign

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Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram. Kallayana said that the FM and
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont tend to "see eye-to-eye" on
most foreign policy issues, including Burma. However, he
said, they do not always agree on Malaysian issues, and when
there is disagreement, the PM does not hesitate to assert his
views on Malaysia, because he feels "he is quite
knowledgeable in this area."

ASEAN
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5. (C) Kallayana said his office has a say in policy planning
regarding the formulation of Thai views on ASEAN's position
toward Burma, but the bulk of the work in this area is
handled by the MFA Secretariat, which drafts position papers
used by MFA officials for ASEAN meetings. Foreign policy
issues are covered at meetings and final authority on formal
Thai positions rests with the Foreign Minister, the NSC and
the Army.


6. (C) When asked if international concerns relating to Burma
are most appropriately dealt with in the context of ASEAN,
Kallayana said that Thailand and more broadly ASEAN cannot go
it alone. He said that Thailand and ASEAN need the United
States and the European Union to continue applying pressure
on Burma. He noted that the Thai are also talking to the
Russians and the Chinese inside Burma. The Thai hope these
two countries will encourage Burma to step up efforts toward
democratization and reconciliation. Specifically, he said
they would like the Russians to communicate that they cannot
continuously exercise the veto in defense of a Burma that is
non-responsive to the will of the international community.

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Kallayana emphasized that Thailand still wants Burma to move
toward democratization.

THE TRANSPARENCY STANDARD
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7. (C) When asked about the impact of the PM's use of
transparency as a keystone of Thai foreign engagement,
Kallayana said that it was no secret that ousted PM Thaksin
was believed to have had significant business interests in
Burma. He said this government does not have the same
interests. According to Kallayana, Surayud himself came up
with the idea of using "transparency" as a buzzword
associated with good governance.


8. (C) Kallayana also said that PM Surayud would not plan to
visit Burma again during his time in office. Kallayana noted
that in the lead up to tabling the UNSC resolution, PM
Surayud specifically told the generals in Burma that the
Thais and the ASEAN community are looking to Burma to deliver
"credible" results. Kallayana said that the Thai never heard
back from the Burmese government on this request. (When asked
to define a credible result, Kallayana said the Thai would
like to see progress on the five issues UN Under Secretary
General Gambari mentioned during his November trip to Burma:
the release of political prisoners; humanitarian access; a
more inclusive political process; the need to work with the
ILO; and the need for a cessation of hostilities against
ethnic minorities.)

COMMENT
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9. (C) Despite a change in Thai administrations, and a
widespread belief that PM Surayud personally has little
affinity for Burma, the Foreign Ministry appears to have
ceded little influence over formulation of Thai policy toward
its neighbor. In fact, the wider involvement of the military
and the private sector in policy formulation could mean that
the PM's personal view will have less of an impact, given
that Burmese affairs are not a top priority for him.
BOYCE